It is known that various surfactants have been found to be useful in cleaning compositions, such as shower gels, shampoos, and light-duty detergents such as dish washing detergents and fine fabric wash. In these types of compositions, good foamability is a prerequisite. The most widely used surfactants in these types of compositions are anionic surfactants such as alkyl sulfates, alkyl ether sulfates, sulfonates, sulfosuccinates and sarcosinates.
Although the use of anionic surfactants in these compositions permits the attainment of desirable properties, including good foamability, the degree of foam stability leaves much to be desired. Foam stability relates to the ability of the foam, once formed, to remain intact for extended periods of time, thus enhancing the cleaning performance of the surfactant compositions.
It is sometimes advantageous to use mixtures of surfactants in cleaning compositions when the surfactants can serve different functions, e.g., one serving to improve foamability and another serving to adjust viscosity. However, known surfactant mixtures typically provide a compromise between what can be achieved with the surfactant ingredients alone. For example, a mixture of more costly surfactants such as amine oxides, betaines and alkanolamides which provide good foamability by themselves, with less expensive surfactants which provide poorer foamability will result in the formulation of a cleaning composition having an intermediate degree of foamability and poor foam stability.
Alkyl polyglycosides are used as nonionic surfactants and are distinguished from other nonionic surfactants by their excellent detergent properties and high ecotoxicological compatibility. They are generally used in liquid formulations, for example, dishwashing detergents and hair shampoos. However, because of their increased desirability as surface active agents, their use as surfactants in many other types of products is growing rapidly. The desire to further improve the characteristics of the alkyl polyglycosides has led to the carboxylated alkyl polyglycoside surfactants. These new anionic carboxylated alkyl polyglycosides have shown improved beneficial properties and uses as compared to the nonionic alkyl polyglycosides.